Return to Oz is a masterpiece. It has one of the most beautiful film scores ever written, gorgeous cinematography, fantastic acting, amazing set pieces, and the special effects still hold up even today in 2024. It is such an absolute underrated masterpiece. I’ve always preferred it to the original. I’m glad that decades later it is finally getting the recognition that it always deserved.
Yup and being rediscovered even on Disney plus. Great practical effects, likable characters and pure entertainment and most important of all: no stupid messages or preaching. Sony and Disney must do a 40th anniversary uhd 4k
This film is a masterpiece. The visuals, plot, soundtrack, effects, everything is top notch! It's an incredibly ambitious work of art. The original was a fun, Hollywood, movie. But Return to Oz was the film equivalent of a symphony or something like that.
I feel bad that he's second guessing all the decisions he made for Return to Oz. It's a wonderful movie, and the mixed reception was due to people thinking it would be a sequel to the musical.
People found Margaret Hamilton frightening... and they still loved the 1939 film in the end. The Baum books are very Grimm Bros. Return to Oz stays faithful in tone of the books.
Margaret Hamilton was such a kind, gentle soul, that Judy Garland, with whom she had become close as family, found it difficult to act afraid of her, even when she was in full witch costume and makeup.
I just watched the movie from beginning to end for the first time recently (after years of trying to fully watch it in my younger years) and goodness, what an incredible movie. It's haunting and tragically beautiful in everyway. I wish it was more appreciated than just pure nightmare fuel - its really something special.
Thank you Mr. Murch for making the film you wanted to make. Like so many of us I grew up watching the musical version every year since my birth in 1960, the Wicked Witch transforming from Miss Gulch was my first scare I can remember. Watching Dorothy have shock pads attached to her head terrified me in an adult way and I appreciate it to this day.
Walter Murch is brilliant. The first Wizard of Oz is my favorite I’ve seen it 1 million times I love it so much, but as a child I did notice that Dorothy was an adult dressed like a kid and I thought that was kind of weird. Murch was way more true to the book, and I absolutely love Walter Murch
I love Return to Oz dearly, and watched it from a very young age, but I can give a few more reasons why it scares audiences: 1) the supporting characters are not played by humans, but puppets, which can fall into uncanny valley 2) the opening where dorothy is sent to a 1900s-style psychotic ward, being threatened by electrocution, drowning and then the Ozma character disappears and is supposed to have drowned 3) the details of the puppetry are done in more macabre colours, whereas wizard of oz uses many primary colours 4) every villain in wizard of oz was a person in a costume and could be seen through 5) the headless witch scene is leagues more suspenseful than trees that throw apples or flying monkeys - an apple or a monkey is a whimsical thing, but headless statues and talking heads immediately remind one of death 6) "eggs are poison..... poison to gnomes" once again dorothy defeats the villain by accident, but his demise is so much more memorable than simply melting into the floor! 7) the idea that her friends will permanently become objects is a nightmare situation 8) the original had a haze of colour and whimsy even when dorothy was crying, there's not many moments of true terror but rather of emotional fear of losing loved ones to make you cry and sympathise. some of the sympathy is lost in return to oz and i think it has a lot to do with how emotion is portrayed.
I love this movie I think the first time I saw it was on TV and it was broken up into two pieces and a lot was cut so it would fit into a TV format with commercials. I'd say another thing is there isn't joy. Dorothy is home but has problems can't sleep. She nearly gets electroshock therapy. Traumaticly arrives in Oz her friends are turned to stone and there is a witch wanting to take her head and a gnome king wanting her dead. Also this is a Disney movie and audiences have a specific expectation of Disney films.
Could you give examples of how the puppetry were done in more macabre colours than the characters in the original Wizard of Oz? I’m struggling to see the difference.
Agree almost entirely - but I'd hardly say the Nome King's death is more memorable than the Witch melting, that is literally part of pop culture. Where as I've watched Return to Oz several times and even still sometimes forget how they actually defeat the Nome King in the end
I interpret the film as: its a parallel world, where she has been institutionalised. Because every character is a mirror image of who she meets in "real life" before she goes into oz. Even the mirror that was in the room, is in the last shots of the film in the newly built house. Think about it. We eventually find her having washed up by the stream after escaping the asylum. Or maybe she died in there, and she is just imagining that she got rescued at the end, and for her, that is heaven or somewhere. This I recall was shot in england too, and that's why it is so dull and dreary, I recognise the countryside. And we don't get a lot of sun here. Anyway, that's my theory of it. I watched it again recently, and it still enchants me. It does have a lot of symbolism in it though, there's much more to this film behind the scenes than just what we see on screen....
Return to Oz was one of my favorite fantasy movie when i was young, along with Aliens and Terminator. To me this was and still is a masterpiece, true to the books and not bastardized by Disney.
When you say "bastardized by Disney" I assume you're referring to Oz The Great and Powerful...a movie I have no love for, but did you know that Return to Oz was also done by Disney?
I grew up watching Return to Oz. I would watch it every weekend again and again at my grandparents' house. It was mysterious and fascinating and I loved its aesthetics before I even knew the word "aesthetics" existed. It is my favourite movie, definitely. Thanks, Walter Murch, for such a beautifully made piece of art.
Return to Oz is an absolute Masterpiece and will be forever one of my all time favourite movies as a child along with The Never Ending Story Labyrinth and the Dark Crystal. I can say I have watched this movie more times than I can imagine over the decades and when I am feeling down it is my go to movie my inner child needs to watch. I was never scared as a child watching at the movie theatre I was taken to a magical place and every time I watch I am taken to that same place as an adult and the film score is perfection. It is also one of my daughter’s favourite movies that we have watched many times over together. I have watched the original Wizard of Oz a handful of times but nothing compares to Return to Oz for me. Thank you for creating this for the world ❤
This for me is the definitive version in my honest opinion, compared to the original. It was dark, and realistic, and that's what made it enchanting. I can keep watching this on repeat ever since it came out in 1985. I always wanted to dissapear into that world. As awful as it might be. I love that it can be interpreted in so many ways, dressed up as a children's film, but its not. If I had the money I would recreate it and live in it Forever! :-p cudos to Walter Merch. Brilliant film, I wish it was extended cleaned up and re-released with bonus features.
Walter...no need to explain anything to the world........ Your film is the greatest family movie in the history of cinema, not only due to the artistry of the special effects in an analogue world, or even the beautiful score by David Shire, you direction, the performances, the production design..... yes all of these things were incredible... but the the world needs to remember that children enjoy being scared by stories.. it's what brings them back time and time again to re-live the experience.
This is my favorite film. I’ve never watched an interview with him bc frankly I knew it would be hard to watch. I’ve always felt pain for all the people who made this movie. They deserved so much more. I hope they never felt embarrassed and always felt proud
I personally love return to oz, I enjoy the characters, not to mention the effects and puppetry is absolutely incredible. It’s definitely more faithful to the books than the MGM film, despite how everyone says it’s a classic. I feel like in our day and age, parents think scaryness in movies and television shows is something that should be avoided, in my opinion, I think some children like to be scared, I’ve definitely met people who were like that. To me I think kids can handle a dark movie, as long as it has likeable characters, and as long as if it has a happy ending, and return to oz is one of those main examples.
Yup nothing wrong with making dark kids fantasy movies like this, dark crystal, labyrinth, secret of nimh, last unicorn, willow and all. The eighties ruled.
Here’s the thing- I actually DID see this as a kid (not at original release, but I was young when I first saw it) and... I don’t remember being mortified lol, by any of it really. In fact, I watch it now with a great sense of nostalgia and childhood wonder. The scene where Dorothy falls into the mountain to meet the gnome king... falling past the crystals just really stuck with me as one of the most visually interesting movie scenes. The visual effects were just so absolutely perfect, as was the musical score. I also find Tiktok to be so charming, something about the fact that he’s not actually alive, he’s just so interesting to think about.
This movie is so brilliant. Way better than the original in my opinion. I'm sad it received such negative reviews when it came out, but clearly we all love it and will forever! As someone else said, a "Masterpiece". Couldn't agree more.
This is a film I go back to every few years and it always astonishes me and I find something new. Thank you for making this film - you made the correct decision and the film has staying power because of it.
Not a musical and yet the score is more important to this film than the original wizard of Oz. Breaks my heart it was so poorly received upon release. Was my favorite movie as a kid and still love it to this day.
This is my 3 year old’s favorite movie. I’m actually surprised at how crazy good the effects are. How in the world did they do the stop motion with the gnome king?
The movie gave me nightmares as a kid, but if you read the books, they’re not far off from this movie. Honestly, it gave me chills, but I did like the film as a kid, and now as an adult as well.
Why did Toto had to left behind ? Auntie Em didn’t realize that prior to Dorothy’s first escapade in Oz , Dorothy wasn’t alone . She had Toto , so if this Dorothy couldn’t sleep from the start of the film so did Toto . Toto should’ve been there with this Dorothy in Oz , just like the original and another Oz book , Toto of Oz .
@@Johnlindsey289 So in history of Oz , Belinna came first before Toto or from the first adventure , he left from Oz before Faruiza Balk went back to there .
It's so odd people were expecting a musical. I saw it when I was 5 years old and I loved every second of it. I recall disliking the previous with Judy in it because they keept singing every minute and didn't let the characters develop. I still keep it in my heart and inspires my work and my ideals in life, the fact that I felt so identified with Dorothy as a child is perhaps something that stuck with me still.
As a kid I loved this and never thought it was scary. I always preferred it to the musical. It makes me sad that so many people didn’t appreciate it when it came out.
No bud, it’s not the lack of songs, it might be the heads, the roller hands and the terrifying pumpkin head man! Ahhhhhh!!! I’m 37 and I can’t watch it.
I absolutely love this movie, but it is scary. He literally just spent 5 minutes saying “I’m surprised people find this movie scary, even though it’s got all this scary stuff in it”
It must be said that the target audience at the time this film was made likely had NOT read the L Frank Baum books it was based on. Instead the audiences expectation was that "Return To Oz" was a sequel to the 1939 film which itself bore little resemblance to the source material. The fact is that "Return To Oz" is quite a faithful adaptation of the work of L Frank Baum.
Masterpiece without a doubt. People just don't like emotional films. They prefer daft silly movies like The Meg & half the crap Disney have released in the last 10 years. Apart from a TERRIBLE title, this film is esoteric & inimitable in its quality of story telling. This was when they treated both adult & childrens films the same - seriously.
I totally agree, the title could have been The Marvelous Land of Oz, the book 2 title or something more catchy. And yes most don’t like deep or more complex/ ambiguous films. I too tire of the silly shallow movies. Lol
One of my favorite movies of all time. Watched it as a kid constantly and now my kids love it. Great acting from everyone especially Jean marsh. Mombi was some scary stuff!
I adore the film. The risks it took. It’s wonderful. A tragedy that Walter never got to direct again. While I can admire the original in terms of its then technical achievements I don’t care for it. Whereas Return to Oz is a straight up great piece of art.
I watched it when I was younger, and loved it! It didn't dissapoint. I also loved the new characters, including the chicken. And I just rewatched it last night. Still loved it! I read the books when I was young, the were a little scary.
Yes some scenes were scary still it doesn't take away how great it was I remember watching it on channel 5 that afternoon it was so great I had to buy it.
He would be my number one choice for making a live-action Super Mario Bros. film. The fantasy world ISN'T escapism, it's the landscape of the human psyche. The danger might be that one would be asking him to do the dreaded 'Same, but different' direction that proper all artists resent.
My opinion is that one of the reasons why the movie was effectively scary to children is the performance by Jean Marsh as Mombi. She absolutely nailed the part - her voice, her mannerisms, and the sense of wickedness the audience got from her that was less hokey than the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz. Without Marsh, this movie is mediocre and doesn't have the impact it ended up having.
And you cast several actors who'd been in horror movies in the movie. And you showed low POV shots, as a frightened young child would see, e.g. within a scary hospital conducting ECT. But you were right to do so. Mid 80s movies, e.g. The Black Cauldron, The Goonies, Labyrinth, Young Sherlock Holmes, were deliberately a little nightmare inducing and Return to Oz is part of that accomplished era.
It took him 30 years to figure out that the way he portrayed the books was traumatizingly scary? I think anyone else figured it out after the first 3 minutes of watching the movie... (but yes the movie is great - could be even better if billed as a horror movie instead of a Disney movie for kids)
1) the books are just as scary, 2) Disney has made a lot of "dark" movies for kids. "The Black Cauldron", "The Black Hole", "Escape From Witch Mountain", "Something Wicked This Way Comes".. hell even Animated Disney movies from the 40s had terrifying moments for kids. Kids like scary movies. I did.
I find The Wizard of Oz deeply depressing. Whereas Return to Oz is like magic somehow captured in a jar! What a perfect storm it is. I think it is the only time I have shed tears from the pure spectacle of it all. BRAVO Mr Murch 🇬🇧🏆🇺🇲
As frightening as this film is, it does stay more true to the source material of Frank L. Baum. If you read the work this sequel is based on, it is quite nightmarish as well.
NO Dorothy being an actual child and not having music is NOT why this movie was nightmare fuel! The WHEELERS are f*ing creepy and THE HEADS. That’s not even covering the horror movie asylum and electroshock...
To me the Wheelers represented paedophiles, and how sexual abuse by staff on patients occurs in mental institutions. Also the "damaged patients, locked in the cellar." Their howling while the lights flicker is as frightening as the matron/witch bellowing "SOOOOOOO!" when she finds Dorothy escaping.
Well this movie was more dark than scary, ALSO everyone seems to forget the semi-true animated sequel to Wizard of Oz (Journey back to Oz with Judy’s Daughter) wasn’t as memorable and it had songs to balance out its darker elements and a quarter of the original cast but again didn’t leave an impression like THIS sequel/entry(?)
I loved this film too because it was based more on the original books .A lot of peapol have crazy conspiracy theories for this film .but it is just a film and they are just books meant to entertain adults and children alike. it is sad that this man as a direct result of the negative reviews of this film ,never directed any movie ever agen ! this was his only film he ever made . hope he relises it was not a complete failure you can tell it really bothers him even today. well have a lovely day all.
Only good adaptation of the books apart from the Japanese animated series made at the same time. You can keep your songs and your camp pandering, the books deserve respect.
Haha, watch it all the time, and beg my mum to buy it, now i have a dvd player and the dvd ;) the wheelers still used to terrify me when i 1st watched it- i was like 7 - me: MUM MAKE IT STOP cries covers eyes xd still love it!
Dude you didn't know why it was scary? You strapped a little girl to a gurny to hit get electric shock treatments. She gets kidnapped by a evil woman who wears different heads and wants to hold onto her til her head becomes the right size to chop off. Then Dorothy has to sit while her friends get turned into ornaments because they guessed wrong in a game then it's her turn. Shit man, the whole movie is this poor kid having to deal with all this.
He is a wonderful artist that really captured the true essence in the books after my opinion. Hollywood is so obsessed with this glorification of kids movies. I watched yhis since I was little, in the daytime though, and I still love it very much. But maybe I have a different cultural view being norwegian...after all Roald Dahl and Asbjørnsen & Moe had their roots here.
This movie MESSED ME UP!!!! My mom likes this movie FOR SOME REASON... And when I was 9yrs old thought I would like it because I had just seen the original wizard of oz. I sat down with her and after 5 minute I was scared. I ended up finishing the movie and I had nightmares about my my taking off her head and putting it in my closet.... 😳 WTF This movie still FREAKS ME OUT!! I can watch The shining, Aliens, You name it, but his movie STILL HORRIFIES ME!!!
I like to think that Return To Oz is made for the children who grew up on Judy Garland’s Wizard Of Oz and who had become cynical and wise to the true evils of the world. I’m not sure what the length of time is between the release of The Wizard Of Oz and Return To Oz but it feels like enough time for a child to grow up and lose optimism in the world some how .
It isn't the greatest but it's a classic none the less. The only scene missing is the part about her being queen at the end. ONE song like the prequel would have been cool I guess...but a scary song not a happy one.
I wish murch had just stuck to book 2s story I feel it would have gone over better. the 1981 musical proves you can be accurate to the books and still make it a musical
I thought the film was pretty good. Ya Princess Mombi was freaky but I still enjoyed it. Not quote as much as Wizard Of Oz, but I understood its just a fantasy movie.
This film was frightening. Nightmarish. For the director not to have recognized this would lead me to wonder if there might have been some kind of mental disconnect or impairment. You can't make a film full of nightmares and then try to market that to children. In the original Oz, there were plenty of characters to delight young children. Right from the very beginning, Oz welcomed Dorothy in the most friendly, colorful way. None of these elements were in the second film and even the overtone of colors on the set were nightmarish, depressing, cold and completely tone deaf that this was a film that was supposed to be marketed to children. It is, by far, the worst film I've ever watched. Ever. And I have seen a lot of movies. The feel of this movie is very dark and depressing and there is no redemption, even at the end. The actors were very good. This is the only good thing about it. This movie is basically a reflection of how it feels to be profoundly clinically depressed. This is essentially depression on film.
Return to Oz is a masterpiece. It has one of the most beautiful film scores ever written, gorgeous cinematography, fantastic acting, amazing set pieces, and the special effects still hold up even today in 2024. It is such an absolute underrated masterpiece. I’ve always preferred it to the original. I’m glad that decades later it is finally getting the recognition that it always deserved.
Yup and being rediscovered even on Disney plus.
Great practical effects, likable characters and pure entertainment and most important of all: no stupid messages or preaching.
Sony and Disney must do a 40th anniversary uhd 4k
Your version of Oz is practically tribute to Frank Baum’s work and should be appreciated more.
This film is a masterpiece. The visuals, plot, soundtrack, effects, everything is top notch! It's an incredibly ambitious work of art. The original was a fun, Hollywood, movie. But Return to Oz was the film equivalent of a symphony or something like that.
The Wizard of Oz was a milestone in filmmaking. I fully understand the merit of that film. But it was not very faithful to the book. Return was.
You've got your descriptions of the films the wrong way round.
I think it’s a classic in its own right
I'll take Return to Oz over the original any day. Thank you Walter for an amazing movie.
Absolutely! It is a far grandiose and artistically ambitious film.
Judy Garland version isn't the original. There were several versions before it.
@@captainbeastazoid7084 It’s how I imagine Oz to be honest.
bollocks.
There several silent movies before garlands movies
Return to Oz doesn't just seem scary. It's almost instantly terrifying and stays so till credits roll. That's what makes it so genius
I feel bad that he's second guessing all the decisions he made for Return to Oz. It's a wonderful movie, and the mixed reception was due to people thinking it would be a sequel to the musical.
It’s actually an adaptation of two oz books
People found Margaret Hamilton frightening... and they still loved the 1939 film in the end. The Baum books are very Grimm Bros. Return to Oz stays faithful in tone of the books.
Margaret Hamilton was such a kind, gentle soul, that Judy Garland, with whom she had become close as family, found it difficult to act afraid of her, even when she was in full witch costume and makeup.
I just watched the movie from beginning to end for the first time recently (after years of trying to fully watch it in my younger years) and goodness, what an incredible movie. It's haunting and tragically beautiful in everyway. I wish it was more appreciated than just pure nightmare fuel - its really something special.
Thank you Mr. Murch for making the film you wanted to make. Like so many of us I grew up watching the musical version every year since my birth in 1960, the Wicked Witch transforming from Miss Gulch was my first scare I can remember. Watching Dorothy have shock pads attached to her head terrified me in an adult way and I appreciate it to this day.
And you think it’s faithful to the oz books?
Walter Murch is brilliant. The first Wizard of Oz is my favorite I’ve seen it 1 million times I love it so much, but as a child I did notice that Dorothy was an adult dressed like a kid and I thought that was kind of weird. Murch was way more true to the book, and I absolutely love Walter Murch
Judy was 16 in the role of a 12 year old
I love Return to Oz dearly, and watched it from a very young age, but I can give a few more reasons why it scares audiences:
1) the supporting characters are not played by humans, but puppets, which can fall into uncanny valley
2) the opening where dorothy is sent to a 1900s-style psychotic ward, being threatened by electrocution, drowning and then the Ozma character disappears and is supposed to have drowned
3) the details of the puppetry are done in more macabre colours, whereas wizard of oz uses many primary colours
4) every villain in wizard of oz was a person in a costume and could be seen through
5) the headless witch scene is leagues more suspenseful than trees that throw apples or flying monkeys - an apple or a monkey is a whimsical thing, but headless statues and talking heads immediately remind one of death
6) "eggs are poison..... poison to gnomes" once again dorothy defeats the villain by accident, but his demise is so much more memorable than simply melting into the floor!
7) the idea that her friends will permanently become objects is a nightmare situation
8) the original had a haze of colour and whimsy even when dorothy was crying, there's not many moments of true terror but rather of emotional fear of losing loved ones to make you cry and sympathise. some of the sympathy is lost in return to oz and i think it has a lot to do with how emotion is portrayed.
I love this movie I think the first time I saw it was on TV and it was broken up into two pieces and a lot was cut so it would fit into a TV format with commercials. I'd say another thing is there isn't joy. Dorothy is home but has problems can't sleep. She nearly gets electroshock therapy. Traumaticly arrives in Oz her friends are turned to stone and there is a witch wanting to take her head and a gnome king wanting her dead. Also this is a Disney movie and audiences have a specific expectation of Disney films.
Could you give examples of how the puppetry were done in more macabre colours than the characters in the original Wizard of Oz? I’m struggling to see the difference.
Agree almost entirely - but I'd hardly say the Nome King's death is more memorable than the Witch melting, that is literally part of pop culture. Where as I've watched Return to Oz several times and even still sometimes forget how they actually defeat the Nome King in the end
@@esyphillis101 Look at the scarecrow's clothing for example
I do not believe the Ozma character is supposed to have drowned. I believe that girl IS Ozma, trapped in our world.
I didn't find it scary at all. I loved it, and still do.
It's the unexpectedly scary movies that stick with you.
What an amazing man! It would be an honor to work with him.
I interpret the film as: its a parallel world, where she has been institutionalised. Because every character is a mirror image of who she meets in "real life" before she goes into oz. Even the mirror that was in the room, is in the last shots of the film in the newly built house. Think about it. We eventually find her having washed up by the stream after escaping the asylum. Or maybe she died in there, and she is just imagining that she got rescued at the end, and for her, that is heaven or somewhere. This I recall was shot in england too, and that's why it is so dull and dreary, I recognise the countryside. And we don't get a lot of sun here. Anyway, that's my theory of it. I watched it again recently, and it still enchants me. It does have a lot of symbolism in it though, there's much more to this film behind the scenes than just what we see on screen....
Nonsense Dorothy was alive as she didn’t drown as oz was a real place and universe
Return to Oz was one of my favorite fantasy movie when i was young, along with Aliens and Terminator. To me this was and still is a masterpiece, true to the books and not bastardized by Disney.
When you say "bastardized by Disney" I assume you're referring to Oz The Great and Powerful...a movie I have no love for, but did you know that Return to Oz was also done by Disney?
*Literally made by Disney.
80's rocked. Oz, NIHM, Black cauldron, gremlins, indy, goonies... 80's dark family fare is the best cinema for kids ever.
Your list and mine are the same. Another masterfully crafted gem (that's also funny as hell)? Death Becomes Her.
Aliens and terminator are sci-fi
I grew up watching Return to Oz. I would watch it every weekend again and again at my grandparents' house. It was mysterious and fascinating and I loved its aesthetics before I even knew the word "aesthetics" existed. It is my favourite movie, definitely.
Thanks, Walter Murch, for such a beautifully made piece of art.
Return to Oz is an absolute Masterpiece and will be forever one of my all time favourite movies as a child along with The Never Ending Story Labyrinth and the Dark Crystal. I can say I have watched this movie more times than I can imagine over the decades and when I am feeling down it is my go to movie my inner child needs to watch. I was never scared as a child watching at the movie theatre I was taken to a magical place and every time I watch I am taken to that same place as an adult and the film score is perfection. It is also one of my daughter’s favourite movies that we have watched many times over together. I have watched the original Wizard of Oz a handful of times but nothing compares to Return to Oz for me. Thank you for creating this for the world ❤
What about willow?
Oh yes and Willow love that too! ♥️
I LOVED Return to Oz!
This for me is the definitive version in my honest opinion, compared to the original. It was dark, and realistic, and that's what made it enchanting. I can keep watching this on repeat ever since it came out in 1985. I always wanted to dissapear into that world. As awful as it might be. I love that it can be interpreted in so many ways, dressed up as a children's film, but its not. If I had the money I would recreate it and live in it Forever! :-p cudos to Walter Merch. Brilliant film, I wish it was extended cleaned up and re-released with bonus features.
39 was not the original, there were silent movies
Walter...no need to explain anything to the world........ Your film is the greatest family movie in the history of cinema, not only due to the artistry of the special effects in an analogue world, or even the beautiful score by David Shire, you direction, the performances, the production design..... yes all of these things were incredible... but the the world needs to remember that children enjoy being scared by stories.. it's what brings them back time and time again to re-live the experience.
This is my favorite film. I’ve never watched an interview with him bc frankly I knew it would be hard to watch. I’ve always felt pain for all the people who made this movie. They deserved so much more. I hope they never felt embarrassed and always felt proud
I personally love return to oz, I enjoy the characters, not to mention the effects and puppetry is absolutely incredible. It’s definitely more faithful to the books than the MGM film, despite how everyone says it’s a classic. I feel like in our day and age, parents think scaryness in movies and television shows is something that should be avoided, in my opinion, I think some children like to be scared, I’ve definitely met people who were like that. To me I think kids can handle a dark movie, as long as it has likeable characters, and as long as if it has a happy ending, and return to oz is one of those main examples.
Yup nothing wrong with making dark kids fantasy movies like this, dark crystal, labyrinth, secret of nimh, last unicorn, willow and all. The eighties ruled.
Here’s the thing- I actually DID see this as a kid (not at original release, but I was young when I first saw it) and... I don’t remember being mortified lol, by any of it really. In fact, I watch it now with a great sense of nostalgia and childhood wonder.
The scene where Dorothy falls into the mountain to meet the gnome king... falling past the crystals just really stuck with me as one of the most visually interesting movie scenes. The visual effects were just so absolutely perfect, as was the musical score.
I also find Tiktok to be so charming, something about the fact that he’s not actually alive, he’s just so interesting to think about.
"And I'm a big chicken fan" says the genius Walter Murch. :-)
This movie is so brilliant. Way better than the original in my opinion. I'm sad it received such negative reviews when it came out, but clearly we all love it and will forever! As someone else said, a "Masterpiece". Couldn't agree more.
Guillermo Del toro hauled this as a masterpiece
This is a film I go back to every few years and it always astonishes me and I find something new. Thank you for making this film - you made the correct decision and the film has staying power because of it.
Not a musical and yet the score is more important to this film than the original wizard of Oz. Breaks my heart it was so poorly received upon release. Was my favorite movie as a kid and still love it to this day.
This is my 3 year old’s favorite movie. I’m actually surprised at how crazy good the effects are. How in the world did they do the stop motion with the gnome king?
The movie gave me nightmares as a kid, but if you read the books, they’re not far off from this movie. Honestly, it gave me chills, but I did like the film as a kid, and now as an adult as well.
Why did Toto had to left behind ? Auntie Em didn’t realize that prior to Dorothy’s first escapade in Oz , Dorothy wasn’t alone . She had Toto , so if this Dorothy couldn’t sleep from the start of the film so did Toto . Toto should’ve been there with this Dorothy in Oz , just like the original and another Oz book , Toto of Oz .
I’m guessing they wanted something fresh with Billina
@@Johnlindsey289 So in history of Oz , Belinna came first before Toto or from the first adventure , he left from Oz before Faruiza Balk went back to there .
Fantastic film, super wanna see it again
I think the movie just had this strong feeling of dread and anxiety to it that the original did not have.
39 was not the original there were silent films based on oz books
It's so odd people were expecting a musical. I saw it when I was 5 years old and I loved every second of it. I recall disliking the previous with Judy in it because they keept singing every minute and didn't let the characters develop. I still keep it in my heart and inspires my work and my ideals in life, the fact that I felt so identified with Dorothy as a child is perhaps something that stuck with me still.
As a kid I loved this and never thought it was scary. I always preferred it to the musical. It makes me sad that so many people didn’t appreciate it when it came out.
No bud, it’s not the lack of songs, it might be the heads, the roller hands and the terrifying pumpkin head man! Ahhhhhh!!! I’m 37 and I can’t watch it.
Get a backbone you pussy!
Haha yeah the film is disturbing but that's why I love it so much!
Jack is the least scary character he’s a sweet dove. The wheelers are terrifying, I’ll give you that... but don’t you dare come for Jack.
@@amandachoin4308 agreed! The Wheelers remain terrifying to this day but Jack is the sweetest character ever to be created 🧡🎃
I absolutely love this movie, but it is scary. He literally just spent 5 minutes saying “I’m surprised people find this movie scary, even though it’s got all this scary stuff in it”
It must be said that the target audience at the time this film was made likely had NOT read the L Frank Baum books it was based on. Instead the audiences expectation was that "Return To Oz" was a sequel to the 1939 film which itself bore little resemblance to the source material. The fact is that "Return To Oz" is quite a faithful adaptation of the work of L Frank Baum.
Yes it’s based on Frank’s stories
maybe if he cleaned his glasses he could see why people were freaked, the musical has nothing to do with being scary could make it worse actually
Masterpiece without a doubt. People just don't like emotional films. They prefer daft silly movies like The Meg & half the crap Disney have released in the last 10 years.
Apart from a TERRIBLE title, this film is esoteric & inimitable in its quality of story telling. This was when they treated both adult & childrens films the same - seriously.
I totally agree, the title could have been The Marvelous Land of Oz, the book 2 title or something more catchy. And yes most don’t like deep or more complex/ ambiguous films. I too tire of the silly shallow movies. Lol
And no woke propaganda
One of my favorite movies of all time. Watched it as a kid constantly and now my kids love it. Great acting from everyone especially Jean marsh. Mombi was some scary stuff!
Watching this movie as a kid I did not think it was scary, this movie was more along the line of *_Neverending Story._* Pan's Labyrinth was scary.
best childhood moive perfect the way you did it thank you
It is what it is. I remember this movie! It’s as scary as heck but Return to Oz was meant to be this way.
The wheelers were horrifying!
This movie is a work of brilliance and is what sparked my love of film.
Back when filmmakers treated children as adults. They weren’t afraid to scare them…everything is so sensitized these days…
Now the adults insist on being treated like small children 😂
RTO is movie perfection! Keep on keepn on and please make more films!
I adore the film. The risks it took. It’s wonderful. A tragedy that Walter never got to direct again. While I can admire the original in terms of its then technical achievements I don’t care for it. Whereas Return to Oz is a straight up great piece of art.
Guillermo Del toro loved it too as he called it an underrated artwork
Masterpiece! Better than the first. Still one of my favorite films.
I watched it when I was younger, and loved it! It didn't dissapoint. I also loved the new characters, including the chicken. And I just rewatched it last night. Still loved it! I read the books when I was young, the were a little scary.
Return to oz is a masterpiece
Yes some scenes were scary still it doesn't take away how great it was I remember watching it on channel 5 that afternoon it was so great I had to buy it.
He would be my number one choice for making a live-action Super Mario Bros. film.
The fantasy world ISN'T escapism, it's the landscape of the human psyche. The danger might be that one would be asking him to do the dreaded 'Same, but different' direction that proper all artists resent.
Well considering Return to Oz lol, Mario Bros would have turned out the same way lol That movie is genius too imo.
My opinion is that one of the reasons why the movie was effectively scary to children is the performance by Jean Marsh as Mombi. She absolutely nailed the part - her voice, her mannerisms, and the sense of wickedness the audience got from her that was less hokey than the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz. Without Marsh, this movie is mediocre and doesn't have the impact it ended up having.
Nicol Williamson was great as nome king too
Love this movie as a kid and I still love it at 42 yrs old.
And you cast several actors who'd been in horror movies in the movie. And you showed low POV shots, as a frightened young child would see, e.g. within a scary hospital conducting ECT. But you were right to do so. Mid 80s movies, e.g. The Black Cauldron, The Goonies, Labyrinth, Young Sherlock Holmes, were deliberately a little nightmare inducing and Return to Oz is part of that accomplished era.
The head scene whare the girl took the powder of life the heads stars moving
It's not a "cuddly" story but it is a "comforting" one!
It took him 30 years to figure out that the way he portrayed the books was traumatizingly scary? I think anyone else figured it out after the first 3 minutes of watching the movie... (but yes the movie is great - could be even better if billed as a horror movie instead of a Disney movie for kids)
1) the books are just as scary, 2) Disney has made a lot of "dark" movies for kids. "The Black Cauldron", "The Black Hole", "Escape From Witch Mountain", "Something Wicked This Way Comes".. hell even Animated Disney movies from the 40s had terrifying moments for kids. Kids like scary movies. I did.
I find The Wizard of Oz deeply depressing.
Whereas Return to Oz is like magic somehow captured in a jar!
What a perfect storm it is. I think it is the only time I have shed tears from the pure spectacle of it all.
BRAVO Mr Murch
🇬🇧🏆🇺🇲
Thank you Mr. Murch for this masterpiece.
As frightening as this film is, it does stay more true to the source material of Frank L. Baum. If you read the work this sequel is based on, it is quite nightmarish as well.
Does nobody remember how terrifying the 1939 film was? Tornadoes, flying monkeys, a talking head, and Margaret Hamilton!
Love your Oz. Fantastic!
NO Dorothy being an actual child and not having music is NOT why this movie was nightmare fuel! The WHEELERS are f*ing creepy and THE HEADS. That’s not even covering the horror movie asylum and electroshock...
Oh please.. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom came out that same year.. all my 2nd grade friends saw it.. WAY scarier than this movie for a kid.
To me the Wheelers represented paedophiles, and how sexual abuse by staff on patients occurs in mental institutions. Also the "damaged patients, locked in the cellar." Their howling while the lights flicker is as frightening as the matron/witch bellowing "SOOOOOOO!" when she finds Dorothy escaping.
Return To Oz is one of my favorite movies of all time 🥰
Great movie ! The studio blew it not the director
Well this movie was more dark than scary, ALSO everyone seems to forget the semi-true animated sequel to Wizard of Oz (Journey back to Oz with Judy’s Daughter) wasn’t as memorable and it had songs to balance out its darker elements and a quarter of the original cast but again didn’t leave an impression like THIS sequel/entry(?)
This one is faithful to the Oz books
I loved this film too because it was based more on the original books .A lot of peapol have crazy conspiracy theories for this film .but it is just a film and they are just books meant to entertain adults and children alike. it is sad that this man as a direct result of the negative reviews of this film ,never directed any movie ever agen ! this was his only film he ever made . hope he relises it was not a complete failure you can tell it really bothers him even today. well have a lovely day all.
Thank you for this movie cause it’s my favourite 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
Return to Oz was wonderful and still one of my favorites
The wizard of oz has someone hanging in the background.
Only good adaptation of the books apart from the Japanese animated series made at the same time. You can keep your songs and your camp pandering, the books deserve respect.
Agree 100%
Haha, watch it all the time, and beg my mum to buy it, now i have a dvd player and the dvd ;) the wheelers still used to terrify me when i 1st watched it- i was like 7 - me:
MUM MAKE IT STOP cries covers eyes
xd still love it!
Amazing movie! Scary as heck
It’s the wheelers for me. I loved the film though and the actress that was in Willow.
I feel like it is the most biblically accurate version of Oz if being compared to the books
Because it is scary!
Walter Murch really made this movie good unfortunately alot of people didn't like this movie because it was too scary.
Dude you didn't know why it was scary? You strapped a little girl to a gurny to hit get electric shock treatments. She gets kidnapped by a evil woman who wears different heads and wants to hold onto her til her head becomes the right size to chop off. Then Dorothy has to sit while her friends get turned into ornaments because they guessed wrong in a game then it's her turn. Shit man, the whole movie is this poor kid having to deal with all this.
He is a wonderful artist that really captured the true essence in the books after my opinion. Hollywood is so obsessed with this glorification of kids movies. I watched yhis since I was little, in the daytime though, and I still love it very much. But maybe I have a different cultural view being norwegian...after all Roald Dahl and Asbjørnsen & Moe had their roots here.
I love this movie so much I wish it was more appreciated
I loved it a lot 😌
Guess Iam wierd after all😅
I had a nightmare because of this movie during 3-4 years old 🤣🤣🤣.. Cool movie, thumbs up
This movie MESSED ME UP!!!! My mom likes this movie FOR SOME REASON... And when I was 9yrs old thought I would like it because I had just seen the original wizard of oz. I sat down with her and after 5 minute I was scared. I ended up finishing the movie and I had nightmares about my my taking off her head and putting it in my closet.... 😳
WTF This movie still FREAKS ME OUT!! I can watch The shining, Aliens, You name it, but his movie STILL HORRIFIES ME!!!
I like to think that Return To Oz is made for the children who grew up on Judy Garland’s Wizard Of Oz and who had become cynical and wise to the true evils of the world. I’m not sure what the length of time is between the release of The Wizard Of Oz and Return To Oz but it feels like enough time for a child to grow up and lose optimism in the world some how .
It’s based on two oz books
It isn't the greatest but it's a classic none the less. The only scene missing is the part about her being queen at the end. ONE song like the prequel would have been cool I guess...but a scary song not a happy one.
I wish murch had just stuck to book 2s story I feel it would have gone over better. the 1981 musical proves you can be accurate to the books and still make it a musical
1981?
glad you did not adapt the 4th book. much scarier even if that reconciled all the 5 protagonists of the 1st book
Great movie, why is it rated G??? Abit messed up..
Return To Oz? It's rated PG.
This film is awesome.
He did not make a kids movie, he made a movie for adults with kids a la Stephen king
I thought the film was pretty good. Ya Princess Mombi was freaky but I still enjoyed it. Not quote as much as Wizard Of Oz, but I understood its just a fantasy movie.
This film was frightening. Nightmarish. For the director not to have recognized this would lead me to wonder if there might have been some kind of mental disconnect or impairment. You can't make a film full of nightmares and then try to market that to children. In the original Oz, there were plenty of characters to delight young children. Right from the very beginning, Oz welcomed Dorothy in the most friendly, colorful way. None of these elements were in the second film and even the overtone of colors on the set were nightmarish, depressing, cold and completely tone deaf that this was a film that was supposed to be marketed to children.
It is, by far, the worst film I've ever watched. Ever. And I have seen a lot of movies.
The feel of this movie is very dark and depressing and there is no redemption, even at the end.
The actors were very good. This is the only good thing about it.
This movie is basically a reflection of how it feels to be profoundly clinically depressed. This is essentially depression on film.
... touch grass, mate.
Disagree it’s the best depiction of Oz on film and the most faithful adaptation of oz
Some people are jus pansies. Stay home and watch Heidi 10x.